TENS for Movement-Evoked Pain in Fibromyalgia: A Randomised Double-Blind Controlled Trial
- 1Universite de Sherbrooke
Abstract
PurposeFibromyalgia involves chronic widespread pain and heightened movement-evoked pain (MEP), which can limit access to resistance trainings functional and psychological benefits by hindering exercise participation and adherence. This study aimed to determine whether transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) applied during resistance exercise reduces MEP in women with fibromyalgia.
Materials and methods21 women with fibromyalgia performed 2 sets of 10 leg press repetitions at 60% predicted 1-RM while receiving randomized active TENS (100 Hz) or sham TENS. Pain intensity and unpleasantness (0-10 numerical rating scales) were assessed at baseline, immediately post-exercise, 15min post-exercise, end-of-day, and 24-h later.
ResultsActive TENS led to a greater reduction in post-exercise pain than sham, with 90% of participants experiencing at least a 15% decrease in whole-body pain 15 minutes post-exercise, compared to none in the sham group. No group differences were observed at the end of the day or 24h after the exercise session.
ConclusionThese results suggest that a single session of high-frequency TENS during resistance exercise can produce short-term reductions in MEP in women with fibromyalgia. While effects did not persist at 24h, these short-term effects may help mitigate acute exercise-related pain and support early training adherence.
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BibTeX
@misc{ruel2026tens,
title = {{TENS for Movement-Evoked Pain in Fibromyalgia: A Randomised Double-Blind Controlled Trial}},
author = {M. Ruel and S. Lussier Crevier and N. Dehors and S. Marchand and I. J. Dionne and G. Leonard},
howpublished = {medRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.64898/2026.09.15.26363019},
url = {https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.15.26363019v1},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - TENS for Movement-Evoked Pain in Fibromyalgia: A Randomised Double-Blind Controlled Trial
AU - M. Ruel
AU - S. Lussier Crevier
AU - N. Dehors
AU - S. Marchand
AU - I. J. Dionne
AU - G. Leonard
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/15
PB - medRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.09.15.26363019
UR - https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.15.26363019v1
AB - PurposeFibromyalgia involves chronic widespread pain and heightened movement-evoked pain (MEP), which can limit access to resistance trainings functional and psychological benefits by hindering exercise participation and adherence. This study aimed to determine whether transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) applied during resistance exercise reduces MEP in women with fibromyalgia. Materials and methods21 women with fibromyalgia performed 2 sets of 10 leg press repetitions at 60% predicted 1-RM while receiving randomized active TENS (100 Hz) or sham TENS. Pain intensity and unpleasantness (0-10 numerical rating scales) were assessed at baseline, immediately post-exercise, 15min post-exercise, end-of-day, and 24-h later. ResultsActive TENS led to a greater reduction in post-exercise pain than sham, with 90% of participants experiencing at least a 15% decrease in whole-body pain 15 minutes post-exercise, compared to none in the sham group. No group differences were observed at the end of the day or 24h after the exercise session. ConclusionThese results suggest that a single session of high-frequency TENS during resistance exercise can produce short-term reductions in MEP in women with fibromyalgia. While effects did not persist at 24h, these short-term effects may help mitigate acute exercise-related pain and support early training adherence.
ER -